A segmentation technology and a contour extraction technology for identifying an area of myocardium are important as an image processing technology which supports diagnosis of cardiac diseases.
In JP-A 2000-217818 (KOKAI), a method of extracting the contour of a left ventricle using the annular position in a cross-sectional image of a heart as an anatomical feature is disclosed.
In JP-A 10-99334 (KOKAI), a method of coordinating contours using anatomical features such as the annulus or papillary muscle is described.
However, when performing the segmentation (or extraction of the contour) of the cardiac muscle by a short-axis image of the left ventricle, there is a case in which the anatomical features cannot be used. Depending on the cross-sectional position of the short-axis image, there is a case in which the papillary muscle which might be the anatomical feature is not included in the image. In such a case, the anatomical features cannot be used. The position of the papillary muscle by itself varies depending on differences among individuals, and hence it cannot be a reliable feature. In such a case, the myocardial segmentation using the anatomical features cannot be performed.
As described above, the related art has a problem such that there is a case in which the myocardial segmentation using the anatomical features cannot be performed.